Chapter Thirteen
Mabraant, Mabra System, Fazaal Sector, Gaashox Quadrant
Kopaz Squadron landed in their allotted bays at Mabraant Engineering, powered down and performed the essential post-flight servicing. Eldaan was not too pleased and was standing at the rear of his ship shaking his head.
“Don’t worry about it Eldaan,” said Grogaan, who walked toward him while gazing at the damage. “It won’t take long to sort it out.”
Eldaan looked at him with sad eyes. “Yeah, I know, but . . .”
Grogaan smiled. “Look, we can’t expect to go into battle without some damage being inflicted on us. Even our improved shielding won’t stop everything.”
“I guess so, but what about the cost of the repairs?”
“Yeah, it’s going to cost a lot,” said Doraant, who appeared from behind Eldaan’s MCI, with Zaack following closely behind.
“No it won’t. It’s already taken care of. Anyway, let’s go to the crew room for a drink and relax before we head off home,” said Grogaan before any of them could protest.
The crew room was cool and quiet, making it easier for them to relax and unwind. Grogaan poured them all a drink, sat down, and closed his eyes for a few moments. He was surprised to sense his friends’ emotions just as clearly back on Mabraant as he had on Drolees. It made him uncomfortable knowing he was gifted in ways that suggested only one thing; he was receptive to the power of the astral realm. Even so, he still found it difficult to believe or accept.
“Good to be back home isn’t it lads?” said Eldaan with a sigh of delight.
“Absolutely!” agreed Doraant yawning deeply. “I think I could sleep for days. I’m exhausted.”
“At least there isn’t a welcoming party this time,” said Eldaan.
Grogaan was surprisingly calm and relaxed considering what they had gone through. He felt no anger, only a deep sense of satisfaction for having completed the first step in fulfilling his vow, and for having survived against the odds.
Moments before he opened his eyes, he sensed Trindall’s presence, which shocked him. The Chief was just leaving his office feeling delighted at their safe return. Grogaan was sitting opposite the window facing the workshop, and when he gazed across the hanger, he saw Trindall strolling toward the crew room sporting a big smile. “Don’t talk too soon Doraant.”
Moments later, the Chief opened the door.
“Welcome back lads. I’m so pleased you all made it back in one piece,” said Trindall. He had been worried the whole time they were gone, and did not stop worrying until he heard of their safe return, thanks to the MDF’s communications officer whom he knew well. The four had only been gone a few days, but it felt like weeks.
“It’s good to be back. Especially after all the commotion over at Drolees,” said Zaack.
“Yes indeed. We’ve heard all about what you achieved,” admitted Trindall, his voice filled with pride. “You’ve proved your flying and combat skills, and how well you upgraded those interceptors. The additional firepower together with your skills made all the difference.”
“You bet it did Chief,” said Doraant.
“You’re surprisingly quiet Grogaan,” said Trindall.
“Just tired,” he sighed. “Combat flying is quite demanding, both mentally and physically.” The truth was that he just wanted to be alone for a while, so he could think about his meeting with the Jestungans and the revelations they brought to light, and ponder his future.
“Well, you should be proud of yourselves, especially you Grogaan,” said Trindall.
“Well lads, I think I’ll be off home now,” he said getting up, taking no notice of Trindall’s praise.
“Before you disappear, I’d like you to accompany me to the main briefing room for a few minutes,” said the Chief.
Grogaan did not sense any concern, and was taken aback by the politeness in the Chief’s voice. “There’s nothing wrong is there?” he said putting his glass down.
“No. Not at all! Come on, you’ll see.”
Grogaan sighed heavily. “Can’t it wait until tomorrow, or is it that important? I’m shattered Chief and need a good meal and an early night.”
“You know I wouldn’t ask if wasn’t important,” said Trindall his eyes furrowed in a deep frown.
With another sigh Grogaan accompanied the Chief out of the crew room, his friends following behind. They entered the office complex and were led upstairs and into the main conference room, wherein a group of five important looking people were sitting around the oval conference table.
Grogaan recognised Dave Greenan, the owner of Mabraant Engineering, and Governor Framp whom he disliked intensely, but not the admiral from the MDF, nor the man and woman to the admiral’s left.
The chief engineer introduced them to those seated. “May I present Squadron Leader Grogaan Learman, and Pilot Officers Zaack Frerant, Eldaan Klarmass, Doraant Gerax?”
“Good day to you all,” said Grogaan as he gave a slight bow of his head in respect, his friends following suit.
The people seated acknowledged the greeting with their own.
Trindall then introduced those seated to Kopaz squadron. “Governor Framp, Senator Perass, Senator Dromston,” he raised his hand indicating the woman, “Admiral Yurgat from the Defence Force and General Greenan, the owner of Mabraant Engineering.”
“What’s this all about Chief?” inquired Grogaan in a subdued tone.
“Please, sit down and make yourselves comfortable gentlemen,” said Greenan.
When the four young men were seated, Governor Framp spoke of the importance of the mission they had just completed, and of the consequences if they had not been successful in their exploits.
Grogaan looked at his friends then shrugged his shoulders. “So why bring us here? Surely there are more important people you should be discussing this with?” There was no mistaking the tone of annoyance in Grogaan’s voice. He disliked most politicians, mostly because they were unable to come directly to the point, and often confused people by their eloquence.
“You could not be further from the truth Squadron Leader Learman,” said Admiral Yurgat. “Was it not you and your friends in your modified starfighters who defeated the Krelathan raiders, and thus prevented the transport from being captured?”
“So what if it was?” said Grogaan rather disrespectfully.
The Governor scowled at Grogaan. “The point is Learman,” he said pointing at him angrily, “we are very interested in the modifications you and your friends have carried out on your starfighters. You have proved the firepower on your ships makes all the difference in combat situations.”
Zaack quickly interrupted the Governor. “That is not entirely true, Governor.”
Everyone looked at the young man. He wasn’t sure if it was because of his interruption or of what he said, but he could feel the hair on the back of his neck crawl.
“Would you kindly explain what you mean, Frerant,” said the Governor.
“Firepower was not the only thing that helped defeat those raiders: It was Grogaan’s brilliance. He’s a talented and gifted pilot, and taught us all we know. Without it, we would have ended up as space dust.”
Grogaan was relieved. For a few moments, he thought Zaack was going to reveal his beliefs about his abilities being attributed to magic, but his friend had finally understood the sensitivity of the situation, and when their eyes met, Grogaan smiled and nodded in a show of gratitude. Zaack reciprocated.
Grogaan turned to face the Governor, but spoke more respectfully this time. “Zaack does tend to exaggerate a little, Governor, but I must accept the fact that my piloting skills are advanced. It is, however, only because my father taught me everything he knew about flying and combat. He was my inspiration, and it was his influence that moulded me into what I am today. The essence of combat is not just about trying to destroy the enemy. One needs to be constantly vigilant, to assess the enemy’s ability, his technique, how he reacts to different manoeuvres, and of course hav
ing a large amount of luck.”
“Well, that seems to sort that out then. Now then, the Senate has decided to finance the upgrading of our fleet of starfighters, with work commencing as soon as possible. We will also be purchasing new advanced and updated models.”
Admiral Yurgat leant forward. “That would be desirable Governor, but the Defence Force doesn’t have enough resources for a project like that, let alone the capital to purchase new ships. As a matter of fact, nor does the Senate treasury. So where will this funding be coming from?”
“You have been in strategy planning for too long Admiral.”
Admiral Yurgat glared at the Governor, and felt his cheeks warming, not from embarrassment but anger. He had not agreed to attend the meeting to be insulted, and would have walked out, but there was too much at stake to act so hastily. Yurgat took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to say something he might regret.
“The Fadaran Royal family have offered Mabraant a vast fortune in financial aid to help combat the Krelathan raiders. That is in addition to the components which were on board the transport these pilots escorted home safely.”
Yurgat slunk back into his chair rebuffed and angry. ‘Only a Governor would ever get away with speaking to me like that!’ he thought.
General Greenan had remained silent through the whole discussion, quietly listening to all that was said. He had been keeping a close watch on Grogaan, and he knew his skills were attributed to more than what the young man had revealed. The General believed in the power of the Guardians, knew Ruebern Learman had been gifted with the ability, as had his grandfather, but he had promised never to reveal the truth to anyone. Now the gift was beginning to manifest itself in Grogaan, Dave doubted the young man would be able to keep it secret much longer, especially with events unfolding as quickly as they were.
The General joined the Academy at the same times as Grogaan’s father, Ruebern Learman, twenty-four years ago, but was forced to leave after sustaining an injury that prevented him from flying. He was offered a different position in administration and planning but refused, preferring a clean break. When the opportunity arose, he took over managing Mabraant Engineering from his father.
After the Krelathan attacks began, Ruebern had pleaded with Dave to use his influence in order to keep his son out of the MDF, to which Dave agreed, albeit reluctantly. He successfully convinced the Academy to turn down Grogaan’s entry applications, although it had been extremely hard.
Now the situation with the Krelathans was far worse than they ever believed possible. With both Ben and Ruebern gone, Dave wondered if he should still keep his promise to his now deceased friend. If he broke it and anything happened to Grogaan, Dave doubted he would ever be able to forgive himself, but the young man had become a fighter pilot without attending the Academy. With his astounding talents, his friends, and their starfighters, there was a chance they could bring an end to the raiders’ attacks once and for all.
“This is where you come in Greenan.” The Admiral scowled when Dave did not respond. “Greenan!” he said raising his voice, jolting the General from his thoughts.
“My apology Admiral,” he said.
The Admiral sighed. “We require up to date costs of new MCIs with the modifications Learman has carried out on his own ship, and the costs of upgrading our current fleet, not just the MCIs, but the MCFs and the TS5s. We will also need working schedules for the upgrades and for building new ships.”
“That shouldn’t be too difficult, Admiral.” He turned to the Chief Engineer. “Can you make a start on that please, Trindall?”
“Yes, of course,” he replied.
“We’ll need to know when your engineers will be able to commence work. Then we can arrange a maintenance schedule.”
“Grogaan and his team can begin work as soon as their current works program is completed. I’ll have to arrange for the acquisition of parts that are out of stock, but many others can be manufactured on site.”
Dave Greenan turned his head to face Grogaan. “Do you have any plans for the upgrades you have carried out?”
“I have scale drawings of the more complex modifications, but only sketches and notes for the others done by trial and error.”
“How did you know what had been done and what was left to do?” inquired Senator Dromston.
“I kept a comprehensive work plan detailing every task performed, as well as what was required to finish the task if incomplete.”
Senator Dromston gazed inquisitively at Grogaan. “Were you the only one who did this?”
“Only one was required. Each task was completed on all four ships before we started the next. This way we were able to ensure all were at the same stage throughout the program, and nothing was overlooked or forgotten.”
“Did you encounter any major system or operational issues?” asked Yurgat.
“A few, but the Chief Engineer helped us resolve them. Without his help, I doubt we would have completed them as quickly as we did.”
The Chief smiled. “Grogaan deserves all the credit, Governor. He’s a remarkable engineer, has an eye for detail, and came up with some unique resolutions to problems my top engineers have been puzzling over for years.”
“Well, it seems you have a remarkable team working for you Chief,” said Senator Dromston.
“I do indeed, Senator.” There was no mistaking the pride in Trindall’s voice.
With the engineering side of things covered, the group discussed tactics and the performance of Kopaz Squadron in detail. The Admiral was surprised how tenacious the four pilots had been in combat, wondering how they achieved such a high level of skill never having been in combat before their trip to Drolees. He wondered if it was simply because they were all just exceptionally talented and gifted individuals, or if there was something more.
“There is one thing puzzling me Grogaan,” said Admiral Yurgat.
“And that is, Admiral?” asked Grogaan.
“I know you mentioned your father taught you to fly, but I was wondering where you and your friends learnt to fly so proficiently, considering you have not had formal training at the Academy.”
“My father taught me more than just flying. He instructed me in combat manoeuvres, theoretically and practically. I then spent considerable time developing my skills, utilising all he taught me,” said Grogaan matter-of-factly.
“Then he taught us everything he knew, including dog-fighting, which is much harder under atmospheric conditions, and he helped us to overcome the difficulties and our lack of confidence,” said Zaack.
“Well your father was one of best and most experienced combat pilots we had, so it’s hardly surprising you’re as good, if not better than he was,” said Yurgat.
Grogaan was getting quite fed up hanging around discussing what seemed to him to be trivial matters that did not really concern him. His squadron’s performance had not produced any new tactics or manoeuvres that would help the other pilots, and he was perplexed at the Defence Force commanders for not realising their need for higher specification starfighters sooner, so he decided to tempt fate and speak out.
“Admiral Yurgat, as you’ll no doubt understand, the flying skills we utilised to defeat the Krelathans are nothing different to what is taught to Academy students. So I’m surprised the primary reason for the MDF’s failure to succeed, which was due to using fighters lacking sufficient firepower, was not realised sooner.” As soon as he stopped talking, he noticed the serious expressions on the Admiral and the Governor, but surprise on the rest.
Trindall was aghast and expected a backlash from either the Governor or the Admiral, but to his greater surprise, the response from the Admiral was not what he or everyone else expected.
The Governor was about to respond when Yurgat held up his hand to stop him. “Well, you’re far from what I was expecting. I heard you were a mild mannered man, educated, knew how to respect authority, and was one who never attempted to stand out amongst his friends. Yet the man
I see now is confident above that of his equals, one who’s willing to show he has what it takes to achieve what he sets out to do regardless of what others think about him. More importantly, you possess a self-assured arrogance that makes you dangerous. You’ll go far Grogaan.”
Grogaan did not really know how to take what the Admiral said, but accepted it as a compliment.
Feeling rebuffed and angry, Governor Framp could take no more. He disliked the Admiral intensely, and now had a deep dislike for Learman despite him being the one who had achieved what no others had. “Well gentlemen, I think that covers everything. If there’s anything else you need to know General Greenan, please contact me,” said the Governor.
“I will, Governor,” said Greenan.
“There’s something else you should know, Governor. While on Drolees, we overheard a few interesting pieces of information,” he paused for a moment to collect his thoughts.
“Well spit it out man!” demanded the Governor.
Grogaan did not take too kindly to the way the Governor spoke to him, and wished he had kept quiet, but controlling his emotions he continued. “It is known by some there that the Matheans have allied themselves with the Krelathans and have combined their forces. It has been said they are receiving substantial funding from an outside source, which is helping the Krelathans weaken the surrounding systems.”
“Thank you Squadron Leader Learman,” said the Governor. There was gratitude in his tone, but he did not make it too obvious. “That is extremely helpful. Everyone knows the Krelathans have always resisted having allies, so why do so now, and with the Matheans of all species?” The Governor paused and scratched his head. “We know an unknown regime has conquered the Faidar System, and maybe that has something to do with it. We have some investigating to do.”
“Excuse me Governor,” said Grogaan.
“Go on,” responded the Governor.
“Repelling and destroying the Krelathan raiders will not prove to be too difficult a task, not now.”
Everyone except the pilots of Kopaz squadron, stared at Grogaan wide-eyed in shock. It was well known very few Mabraantan pilots survived the Krelathan attacks, and that other worlds fared no better.
“How can you say such a thing when so many of our brave pilots have died at the hands of that evil race?” asked the Governor with obvious indignation.
“I intend no disrespect to those who have died so bravely,” said Grogaan, “but if the skill level of the raiders we have encountered is anything to go by, they will pose little threat against us once we get enough fighters upgraded. It’s the new Empire expanding in the Hadon sector that concerns me.”
“What do you know of this Empire?” demanded the Governor.
“I know enough to say that we’ll not be able to build a fleet strong enough to withstand their battle fleet. They have enormous battleships, more than four times the size of our biggest cruiser, with a large compliment of small fast starfighters on each.”
“Where did you come by this information Learman?”
“Prince Grolak and Senator Brendal of Faidan. They had a lot of information that was quite disturbing.”
“And why would they tell you this information and not us?”
“The Prince wanted to get to know us after defending him, his family, and his convoy from the raiders while in the Drelena system. The information will probably be relayed to the Senate soon, if it hasn’t already been done so.”
There was silence. Everyone could see that the Governor was angry with Learman.
“Why do you think they liberated so much equipment and wealth? It wasn’t just for the defence against the Krelathan raiders, but to help other systems build up planetary defences against the marauding empire.” Grogaan spoke with a calmness that surprised the others, and with some smug satisfaction, knowing he knew something the Governor did not.
For a few moments the Governor just glared at Grogaan, but when he finally spoke, his response was not what was expected.
“I will have to discuss these matters with the Senate and contact Drolees myself. That will be all for the moment.” He gathered his few reports and made to leave.
The Admiral paused a moment. “Squadron Leader Learman, I see you have what it takes to be a top fighter pilot and squadron commander, confidence and arrogance, just like your father. I expect to see you rising through the ranks quickly.”
Grogaan was surprised at the Admiral’s comments, and wondered if he know why his applications were rejected or not, but before he was able to think further on the matter, General Greenan walked toward him.
“That will be all for now, Grogaan. You and your colleagues have earned a short break. Take the next few days off and I’ll get Trindall to contact you as soon as you’re required.”
“Thank you, Sir. We’d like that very much,” he replied, and returned to the workshop with his friends.
Back in the crew room, Grogaan placed his few things in his locker, and decided it would be a good idea to have a drink to relax and unwind instead of going straight home. Although he wanted to think about the last few days, he realised his friends deserved a celebratory drink, and he wanted to show his appreciation of them and their performances. He also sensed something strange about their emotional state, but was unable to pinpoint what it was, although he suspected it was the after affects of the stresses and tension from the mission.
Grogaan looked at his friends with a cheery smile. “Who fancies going for a drink at the Klaret?” His three friends nodded. “The drinks are on me, and I’ll meet you there in about an hour.”
“Why not go straight from here?” asked Eldaan.
“I’ve a few things to do first,” said Grogaan.
“No problem, we’ll see you later then.”